Improvement in annealing-furnaces



H. w. MOORE.

6 Annealing Furnace.

No. 58,666. Patented 0m. 9, 1866.

N. PETERS Pnma-Lnnn n ner, Washington. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFIGE.

'HIRAM WV. MOORE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN ANNEALlNG-FURNACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,666, dated October9, 1866.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM W. MOORE, of Bridgeport, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Annealing Cast-Iron Car-Wheels; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 represents an external view of theannealingfurnace. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section through the same.Fig. 3 represents atop plan of the furnace. Fig. 4 represents a view ofthe top of the furnace and its charge with the cover. removed. Fig. 5represents aplan of the bottom of the furnace.

Similar letters of reference, where they occur in the several figures,denote like parts in all the drawings.

My invention relates to the annealing of cast-iron ear-wheels by burningcharcoal in contact with the metal under a regulated and controlledsystem, and, in conjunction therewith, admitting a current of airthrough the openings in the hubs to cool that portion of the wheel.

I am aware that many attempts have been made to anneal cast-ironcar-wheels; but from the difficulty of maintaining a uniform heatthroughout a series of wheels such process has not gone into generaluse, although it very much improves and strengthens the wheel. To annealthem singly would be too expensive.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe the same with reference to the drawin gs.

A represents a metallic shell lined with firebricks B. The top C of theshell or case is removable for placing in the wheels and alternateplates and the charges of charcoal, as will be explained, and has,moreover, an opening in its top portion covered by a plate, D, forclosing up the furnace when desired.

In the bottom of the annealing-furnace there are three openings, to, a,and I), all controlled by a door, E, so as to close them against theadmission of air, when, during the process of annealing, such closingbecomes necessary. The openings a a lead into an annular flue, F,

at the bottom of the furnace, while the opening 1) leads into the centerof the furnace, as seen at G, Fig. 5, and there projects upward, as atH, and thence communicates with the vertical flue H, formed by theopenings in the hubs of the wheels I.

At the lower end of the inside of the furnace there is a support, 0, forthe hub of the under wheel of the pile that is to be annealed, and alsoa support, (I, for the web or outer portion thereof, which is ofcylindrical form.

Over the annular flue F, and between the support d and the brick-work B,there is a ring-plate, J, perforated with a series of holes, as moredistinctly seen in Fig. 5, for admitting atmospheric air to promote theburning of the charcoal that is lying upon and around the wheels.

The lower wheel of the pile having been properly placed upon the base orsupports, charcoal is thrown in around its rim, until suf= fici ent forthe purpose is so placed, and then, by preference, animal-charcoal isplaced upon the web of the wheel. Then a flanged disk or ring, 6, islaid over the wheel, said ring having suitable perforations for allowingair to pass through, while it will hold the char coal upon that portionof its riin f that pro jects into the annular space g, between the rimsof the wheels and the lining of the case or shell. Without theseholdingtlanges f the charcoal, as soon as it begins to burn, will settledown to the bottom of the furnace, and the heat there will becomeexcessive, and the upper wheels of the series not receive their dueshare of heat or of carbon.

The wheels are placed in the annealing-case while hot, and when the caseis full and charged the cover 0 is put on, and the draftholes opened.The charcoal soon ignites, and, when fairly burning, the openings to thecase may be closed, and sand thrown over the cover C, and the whole leftto smolder, and then cool off.

I have mentioned the use of animal-charcoal, on the webs of the wheels.I prefer it for its purity, and the small quantity required makes it useinexpensive.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein is 1. Theopenings at a at the base of the annealing-case, in combination with theannular nace for containing a pile. or series of wheels, the series ofperforated and flanged rings to be placed between said wheels, forregulating and controlling-the combustion of the charcoal therein, asand for the purpose described.

H. W. MOORE.

Witnesses:

A. B. STOUGHTON, EDM. F. BROWN.

